International Day for elderly

The United Nations (UN) International Day of Older Persons is celebrated annually on October 1 to recognize the contributions of older persons and to examine issues that affect their lives.

On December 14, 1990, the UN General Assembly made October 1 as the International Day of Older Persons.

Vienna International Plan of Action on Ageing, was adopted by 1982 World Assembly on Ageing.

The International Day of Older Persons was observed for the first time throughout the world on October 1, 1991.

IAMAI launches ‘Mobile10X’ to boost apps development in India

Mobile Internet body Internet and mobile Association of India (IAMAI) launched an initiative to scale up mobile app developer ecosystem from the current 50,000 to five lakh in five years.

With Google India and Paytm as founding partners of the programme, the ‘Mobile10X’ initiative aims to boost the mobile app segment revenue.

Under the programme, IAMAI will set up five mobile startup hubs over the next five years.

The initiative will also train five lakh engineering students on Android and iOS platforms, provide online mentoring with experts as well as offer industry and investor connect.

Gurpreet Singh has won silver medal at 2015 Asian Airgun Championship

India’s shooter Gurpreet Singh has won silver medal at 2015 Asian Airgun Championship held in New Delhi.

Abhinav Bindra had won the gold in the Men’s 10m Air Rifle event while Ayonika Paul won the bronze in the Women’s 10m Air Rifle event.

India to hold G20 Chair in 2018

India is set to be the G20 Chair in 2018, and New Delhi could host the prestigious annual G20 summit.

One of the G20 countries is selected to hold the Chair in rotation, also known as ‘G20 presidency’.

The presidency establishes a temporary secretariat for the duration it holds the Chair. The secretariat coordinates all work and organises G20 meetings.

Maharashtra imposes tax to tackle drought

The Maharashtra government has decided to impose ‘drought tax’ to tackle a drought situation in the state.

A tax of Rs. 2 per litre would be charged on petrol and diesel, while Value Added Tax (VAT) on liquor, cigarettes and beverages has been raised by 5 per cent. Also, the surcharge on VAT for gold and diamond jewelleries has been raised from 1 to 1.20 per cent.

India to host Fed Cup carrom for first time

The seventh Federation Cup international carrom tournament will be held at the Thyagaraj Indoor Stadium from October 7 to 11.

It is the first time the event is being held in India.

Teams from the UK, France, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Maldives, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Qatar and Pakistan are expected to take part.

US, India, Japan Hold First Trilateral Ministerial Dialogue

India, Japan and the United States at their first- ever trilateral ministerial dialogue here called for a peaceful settlement of disputes, freedom of navigation and unimpeded lawful commerce including in that area.

The meeting was attended by External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, her Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida and US Secretary of State John Kerry.

The three countries also agreed to work together to maintain maritime security through greater collaboration while highlighting the growing convergence of their interests in the Indo-Pacific region.

Heena Sidhu wins gold medal at Asian Air Gun Championships

India’s ace shooter Heena Sidhu has clinched a Gold medal in the 10-metre air pistol event of the Asian Air Gun Championships in New Delhi.

Shweta Singh of India by scoring total of 197 points won Silver medal.

South Korea’s Seon A Kim won the Bronze medal.

Yashaswini Singh Deshwal of India was placed at fourth position.

Heena Sidhu is former world number one and was India’s first pistol shooter to be ranked number one in the world.

A Postal Stamp on Dr.B.R. Ambedkar Released

A commemorative stamp on Dr. B.R. Ambedkar, the chief architect of India’s Constitution, was released as part of his 125th birth anniversary celebrations.

It is aimed at making the world aware of his work as a champion of the underprivileged

Times World University Rankings

India has 17 universities in the newly expanded World University Rankings top 800 in Times Higher Education.

India has two institutions in the top 400, the Indian Institute of Science (the 251-300 group) and the Indian Institute of Technology, Bombay (351-400 cohort).

The California Institute of Technology (USA), the University of Oxford (UK) and Stanford University (US) are the top three institutes in the list.

World trade to grow only 2.8% this year: WTO

The World Trade Organization (WTO) said the world trade will grow by 2.8 per cent this year.

It could be pegged back further by a US interest rate rise, China’s economic slowdown or Europe’s refugee crisis.

China’s falling demand was one major reason why global trade shrank in the first two quarters of 2015, contracting from the previous quarter by an average of 0.7 per cent.

Falling demand in Brazil and oil and commodity prices also contributed.

Indian women’s cricket team stands fourth in ICC team rankings

The Indian women’s cricket team stands fourth in the latest ICC team rankings with the new innovative multi-format system brought into place.

Australia are ranked number one following its success in the ICC Women’s World Cup 2013 in India and the World Twenty20 2014 in Bangladesh.

New lizard species discovered

Researchers have discovered a new species of rock-dwelling lizard at Kanker district of Chhattisgarh.

The new gecko species has been named Hemidactylus yajurvedi (Kanker Rock Gecko).

It was in honour of Hanumanth Narasimhachar Yajurvedi, professor, department of studies and research in Zoology at Manasagangotri, University of Mysore, for his contribution to the field of reproductive biology of reptiles and mammals.

The new lizard species has been spotted at five localities in Chhattisgarh in habitats mainly consisting of a mixture of dry deciduous forest and scrub vegetation.